Brad Sanderson Interview
It’s 5:30pm on Monday 11th January and I’ve just met Brad Sanderson we shook hands and exchanged pleasantry’s before sitting down for a chat he explains that he’s just finished rehearsals for the evenings show at the 7,500 capacity Eihusen Arena in Nebraska. We’re seated in the lounge of the hotel where Brad is staying for the next two days. “Hi It’s been a hectic few days for me I’ve not been in Nebraska for long and I’ve had a lot to do in a short space of time, I’ve just finished rehearsals for tonight’s show and there was a couple of sound problems which I’ve been assured will be sorted before the show, so I’m a little bit concerned about that, do you want a drink or anything before we start the interview”.
The waiter arrives with a cup of coffee for myself and a glass of water for Brad, even looking at him you can tell he looks after himself and lives a healthy life, We begin the interview.

So your just starting out in the music industry, are you worried about potential problems which come with fame?
“No certainly not, it’s not something I’ve worried about at all, I’ve never been addicted to anything before. I’ve always had the ability to say no to certain things like drugs or alcohol, I’ve never done drugs and I very rarely drink alcohol, I’m not gonna preach to people about not taking drugs I’m just gonna do what my job is and that’s writing, recording and performing songs, it’s that simple.

Your first single is to be released in February, that seems a bit bizarre considering your album isn’t going to be released until later in the year?
Yeah that was a decision I made with Max [Armstrong], I’ve recorded the song Jersey Streets and Max put forward the possibility of releasing the single towards the start of the year with the album out near the end of 2010. It’s not at all about financial gain, I’ve got a small fan base which has built up since about 2008 and I’ve never had any music available for them to purchase so I wanted the single out as soon as possible.

The single is going to be only released in the USA, do you think this is slightly unfair for people who may want the single in other country’s?
Well I don’t have a major fan base outside of the US because I haven’t toured outside of the USA so it just seemed simple enough for the single to be released in the USA but the album will be released worldwide because I’m going to be touring all over the world in support of the album.

The album isn’t just Brad Sanderson your backed by a band called The Jersey Group, how did that come about?
Well The Jersey Group isn’t a band in the sense that The Junction is a band, It’s just a group of my friends who are also musicians and we decided to work together and tour together as Brad Sanderson & The Jersey Group, once we decide to finish working together then each individual member will go off and do their own things, but at the moment I wouldn’t class myself as a solo artist because I’ll be working with The Jersey Group for hopefully a long time and at some point I will do a couple of solo albums and maybe even collaborations.

Your 22 years old now and your in a long term relationship, what are your plans for the future in terms of your personal life?
Well I don’t what you consider a long term relationship but I’ve been in a relationship with Alicia since 2008. I don’t think it’s all that wise to have a future plan, I mean I want to get married whether that’s with Alicia or not remains to be seen anything can happen but certainly at the moment the relationship is going well and marriage is probably very likely. I’d also like kids and myself and Alicia have spoke about that and we’ve agreed that if we were to have kids it would only be after we get married.

Will touring not put a strain on your relationship?
I think that’s possible but it’s not something that’s new, I’ve toured since we’ve been together but obviously it’s not ever been on the scale as the one which will be happening in 2011. I think we’re confident enough that our relationship will be fine but it’s more about living in the moment rather than worrying about the future.

You we’re signed to Junction Records by Max Armstrong after he saw you perform in a small club in New Jersey, Are you worried about letting him down?
I think it may play on my mind if the debut album doesn’t live up to expectations but he’s confident in my ability and that makes things a bit easier and he’s had a fair amount of success with his bands so he’s got an idea of what it takes to make it in the music industry.

The debut album is untitled is it any closer to be given a title?
There’s a handful of possible title’s in the running but I think the most likely title is Everyday America it’s kind of based on the tracks we’ve got for the album, I think it will resonate more with small town American’s but I think there’s something for everyone on the album, It’s a rock album so there may be a limited fan base for example you won’t get many Dance & R’N’B fans who buy the album but it’s not a metal album or a punk rock album, it’s just gonna be a Rock album.

Will there be songs which you’ve performed live on the album or will you only be performing them once the album’s been released?
Jersey Streets is the only song from the album which I’ve performed live before and that’s a song which has been performed at most shows, it seems to be a big hit when I perform it live but it gets the biggest reception in New Jersey for obvious reasons.

Your were born and raised in New Jersey are you proud of your roots?
I was never massively popular when I was younger but I had a fair few friends and I loved growing up in Jersey, I did move to New York briefly but it didn’t work out. There’s a hardworking ethic instilled in a lot of people from Jersey and I’m massively proud of where I grew up. In my view Jersey is the greatest place in the world, obviously I’m biased but there’s no other place I’d rather be.

Good luck on the album and I hope to speak to you again soon thank you.
Thanks

I end the interview and Brad shakes my hand and thanks me for the interview again.

Edited by user 13 January 2010 05:57:30(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified